In a place as beautiful and rich as Kerala , this is but natural :) So two days and three destinations it was..... Kovalam , Kanyakumari and Varkala
How we got there: A train from Calicut to Trivandrum and then a taxi for all the three places.
The perfect time to go : Late September to December
Anthem of the Journey: "Oh Kaindi Poump up the Jam .. Oh kaindi" :P
We were : 13 and We left on : A Friday!!!
An early morning arrival at Trivandrum... we had breakfast at The Indian Coffee house close to the station.
One of the oldest Indian Coffee houses in India, the food there is nothing to boast about but its circular architecture is interesting.
As you enter, a ramp begins spiraling upwards and the tables are on the ramp itself. Nice :)
Two days and so many places to go!
Kovalam :
Almost a year and a half in Kerala and all those beaches... you need a really cool beach to make you go Wow. This was somehow missing in Kovalam. The beach was as all beaches are.. somewhat commercialized, it has a light house and a few"islands" which join the mainland once the water retreats in early October.
We had heard a lot about the beach but were disappointed somewhat.... so we spent just about an hour or 2 there and headed to Kanyakumari.
The Tip of India :)
Now this was one Constraint satisfaction problemo! 13 people and 13 different where to go's!
We finally went to the old fort, Vivekananda rock, and saw the windmills... Missed the famous sunset of Kanyakumari.....It was a cloudy day.
The fort was fun and the view from it was so totally grand... the tip of India and the Vivekananda Memorial on one side, endless ocean on the other and windmills on the third side. Breathtakingly awesome.
Next Stop: The Vivekananda Memorial....
And here we joined the stream of tourists on the ferry to the Island.... Its a two stop tour :
The Vivekananda Rock where Swami Vivekananda meditated and Saint Poet Thiruvalluvar's memorial which has a larger than life statue of his.
The view is just awesome... the tourist guides will have you believe that you can see three different coloured waters joining at the tip... black , blue and green... The Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and Arabian sea (Offcourse not in that order! :) )... We just manged to see two... Like Suresss said.... It was cause of the "Sunsine"
The Dhyan Mandap in the Vivekananda Memorial has a different aura to it.. This is where he meditated, and its open to the tourists to sit in silence and darkness and meditate.
The windmills too were a sight too behold...
Varkala!!! It so totally rocked :)
Seriously wish had more time to spend and not just a day in Varkala... The place is so not typical Kerala...Its almost like a Mini Goa Nestled behind a Cliff.... The ambience was awesome... It has a helipad, from there the road to our resort was this small winding thing which kept U turning every 10 mins.... It was dark, full of water and this narrow lil road. Perfect setting for a thriller... Our resort turned out to be decent and the apprehensions of being in a murder mystery set evaporated :)
The food served in those shacks by the beach side is yummylicious too... Mexican , Italian, Chinese, Continental and off course Indian... Lovely. For the Alcoholically inclined too... the place lives up to expectations :)
This little paradise is well known outside India and is thronged by foreigners.... if u know what I mean ;) There are two beaches... a black beach (the colour offcourse refers to the colour of the sand!) and a main beach. The place also has a Taj leisure resort... offcourse that was something our wallets did not allow us !
The perfect day.... a lazy breakfast or sunrise :P... the beach ... Auyrvedic massages.... tattoos and more of the beach followed by an awesome dinner and drinks and a party to wind the night off. (well.... not everyone could get a massage done... Theres only so much you can fit in in 3/4th of a day...the tattoo fellas wernt there this time of the season and we had to leave before the party started!!! :) )
The trip so totally rocked... just wish we could have spent more time in Varkala! Also the best time to go is October-Novemeber when the main beach also opens up as the waters recede.
Evening 8 o'clock we had to unwillingly leave the place and rush to catch our train back to Calicut....
In short the trip was Legen-dary! :)
Cheers!
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